Thailand late April - too hot?

[sweetmelody]

The extended Easter break (up to the May Day bank holiday) is the best time for us to take our annual holiday this year. But we wanted to go to Thailand this year and all the research I've done tells me that it is very hot at that time of year.

I did Bangkok/Koh Samui about ten years ago for two weeks at the end of March/beginning of April. I don't remember it being unbearable, but this time appears to be at the end of the 'best time' to go (or is, maybe, at the beginning of the 'hot season') and end of April could be leaving it late. Also, I didnt have a 3.5 year old in tow ten years ago!

Does anybody have any advice or can suggest anywhere else (similar?!) that might be a better bet weather-wise?

We have been to Atlanta, Orlando and Jamaica with our DS so, generally, we do like it hot, but would Thailand at this time be too much??

Thanks in advance :)

We lived in Bangkok for four years so I suppose we aclimatised. Songkran is mid April and that is the hottest time of the year IME.
IIWY, I would consider somewhere else TBH. Nothing worse than whining miserable children.
For our DD, it wasn't the heat it was the humidity that made it so uncomfortable. Maybe it is different at the coast, but certainly the city was pretty opressive.

Thanks kreecher - very helpful to have the view of someone on the ground.

You're probably right about going elsewhere :(

But where I don't know!!

Any suggestions good people??

We backpacked around Thailaind late March/April for a month with our 2yo. Yes it was very hot, but if you were near the coast it was ok. Bangkok was boiling, a little too hot for comfort though!!

We mainly were in Southern Thailand (Krabi/Koh Pu/Koh Lanta), which was fine due to sea breezes then central (Kanchanaburi - great as Songkran was at that time, place was great fun although was fairly hot) and Bangkok at the end - totally boiling. We saw a few temples then just chilled out, was too hot to walk around too much. That said, we did go to a few shopping malls to take advantage of the air-con! We took fold up stroller for DS with a sun canopy, so he could get a little respite. Only used it in Bangkok.

I am very light skinned and don't do heat well (burn very easily), but as long as dressed appropriately it was do-able. If I went back however, would go at a slightly less hot time of year. HTH

Great insight wicked fairy.

So you would say that the islands would be ok heat-wise? Interesting that you are light skinned and coped at the coast, because DH and I are both black (as is DS!) so don't fare too badly in tropical heat and should be better off.

I know you backpacked, but do you know of/did you come across any resorts (although we'd rather not do any of the Hilton/Sheraton type places) that were particularly well suited to families? DS an only so keen to be somewhere where other children will be around and catered for.

Thanks

Hi, yes -I thought islands were ok due to the sea breeze. It was hot, but didn't feel as hot, iyswim (you still need suncream, even if you think you didn't - the breeze was deceptive sometimes).

We only stayed at one resort (the posh bit of our honeymoon) in the Krabi area - Railay Bay. It's a peninsula but like an island, as access only by boat. We stayed at Railay Bay resort for a few nights, wasn't cheap but there were quite a few families there - don't think any kids clubs though.

We mainly stayed in really small places and there were not really too many kids there tbh. BUT unless the staff at most places were serving someone, they weren't doing too much and always played with DS, which he loved. When we went into the local towns, we always chose somewhere to have a drink/snack that was like someones front porch (probably was too) and the local children all piled in to play with DS.

HTH